Jury finds Starke County man guilty of murdering father

A Knox man was found guilty of murdering his father by a jury trial last week.

According to court documents, on Dec. 6, 2024, the Starke County Sheriff's Department received a request for a welfare check for Landin Minix at his home in North Judson. When officers arrived to the scene they immediately reported the smell of natural gas and soon located a deceased man, later identified as Landin Minix, inside the residence. A NIPSCO representative on scene confirmed to police that a gas line at the residence had intentionally been cut. 

Authorities noted the scene had appeared to be cleaned up and staged and that the body had been moved. The victim had appeared badly beaten and had a gunshot wound to his forehead. A .22 caliber revolver was also recovered next to Landin's body, but officials later determined from the bullets found at the scene that a .38 caliber revolver had been the murder weapon.

Upon further investigation, detectives were able to obtain more information and identified a person of interest, Timothy Minix, the victim’s son. The father-son relationship was noted by family members to be notoriously turbulent. Detectives on the case were able to use several systems, and collaborated with other agencies to identify an address in Fulton County where the subject was.

On Saturday, Dec. 7, the Starke County Sheriff’s Department Strategic Response Team was activated and responded to the 4500 block of Bowen Street in Leiters Ford in Fulton County. The Strategic Response Team then partnered with the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department, Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department, Rochester Police Department and the Culver Police department to approach the residence and eventually made contact with Minix, who was taken into custody without incident to the Starke County Justice Center, where he was interviewed by detectives.  

During one interview, Minix confessed to shooting his father and eventually even led detectives to the location in a rural part of Starke County where he hid the .38 caliber revolver used in the crime. 

Starke County Prosecutor Leslie A. Baker announced that a 12-person jury found Timothy Minix guilty of murder on May 14. During the trial, Minix also admitted he was guilty of a firearm enhancement, but chose to exercise his 5th Amendment right and declined to testify. The sentencing range for murder is 45-65 years, with an advisory sentence of 55 years. A firearm enhancement charge carries an additional 5-20 years. 

The sentencing date is set for June 16 at 11 a.m. in the Starke Circuit Court.